Fourth Time's the Charm
by Sogo
Summary: "The first time they meet, he is naive and she is innocent." They came from very different places, but they were always the same. A story of four meetings.


**So, I have never seen this before, but somewhere along the line, it grabbed hold of me and wouldn't let go. (I have to say, it's kind of fun writing about things no one else has. Makes me feel all clever.)**

 **And seriously, do you think they got the names from this? Because I found the irony way too much to ignore. HOW HAS NO ONE NOTICED THIS?!**

 **...Uh, yeah. So. Story. Enjoy.**

 **Fourth Time's the Charm**

The first time they meet, he is naive and she is innocent.

It's just a mix up with their luggage, but it's enough, and soon he finds himself blown away, because she is cute and funny and he wants to hold her hand and hear her laugh.

She finds herself blushing when he accidentally bumps into her and thinks he's smart and cute and he makes her smile.

He's naive, because he doesn't know his family, what they do, who they are. He has been kept from this secret for so long, and he doesn't know the truth.

She's innocent because even after all she has seen, after facing off against the worst humanity, everything is still black and white. Her uncle is good, and those he fights are bad, it's that simple.

It won't be for long.

He is acting the adult, wearing glasses he doesn't need and insisting that his family address him by his full name, instead of the childhood nickname he's gone by for so long.

She is acting the child, after so long being the responsible one, relishing in the opportunity to behave her own age and indulging in ridiculous fantasies of the future.

And then, they find out.

He is disbelieving at first. (This can not be, he may rarely visit his Uncle George, yes, but there is no way his family could have been hiding _this_ from him.) But the sheer amount of evidence is overwhelming and the things that are happening (not to mention the fact that Uncle George really doesn't seem to know a _thing_ about wildlife biology (also, that cat really doesn't look like a "Fluffy")) and he can't deny it any more. His uncle is a villain.

She is just as disbelieving, when she first sees Madcat and realizes exactly where she is, and tries to process the fact that the boy she thinks is sweet and adorable is the nephew of one of the most despicable men on the planet. But clearly he is as shocked as she is, and together they work to rescue her uncle from the danger he, once again, hasn't even realized he's wandered into.

At the end of it, they promise to keep in touch, despite the vendetta their uncles have. (Though she's not entirely sure her uncle has figured out where they were.)

It is a promise they will hold to for a while.

 **-0-**

It isn't until a week later that he suddenly realizes he doesn't actually know if his father is in on this whole villainy thing.

He asks his grandmother, who has long since retired from her villain days, where exactly his father is, and if he's really off studying dangerous tombs around the world as an adventuring archeologist.

Of course that's not true. Of course his father is an internationally renowned villain currently frozen in ice somewhere in the mountains.

...This is kind of a downer.

 **-0-**

The emails they exchange aren't particularly long and aren't sent very often.

She wonders, sometimes, if in another life, they could have been together.

As it is, if they ever got together, there would probably be attempted murder at every family reunion.

 **-0-**

At some point, he realizes that though science is his specialty, what he really wants to do is make a difference in the world.

His grandmother is thrilled to hear this. Even with him at boarding school nearly constantly, what with his father on ice and his mother dead, she wants to claim responsibility for raising at least one kid on the right side of the law.

After first hearing his new plans, she sends him half a dozen books on politics.

He reads them once before he ceremoniously burns them all. Really, he's quite certain no one in his family is entirely confident on what a non villainous career is. Or maybe they're all just so far over the line of villainy that they can't see it in their rearview mirrors.

Either way, he is certainly not going into politics.

 **-0-**

Things change.

She's fifteen when the first accident happens, a spare shot from MAD agent that ends up hitting the rocks of the mountain behind her, causing an avalanche. The small orange robot with her tries to get them both out of the way, but it's coming too fast, and before she knows it, all she can think about is the pain in her arm.

It's merciful she passes out then.

It isn't until she wakes up in the hospital a few days later she get the full story. Her left arm has been completely crushed, and much of that side was damaged irreparably.

It's fortunate that her uncle is well acquainted with the top cybernetic scientist in the world. One phone call later, and her whole side has been completely rebuilt.

Unfortunately, her injury is a bit of a wake up call for her uncle. He refuses to allow her anywhere near his work any longer. She tries to keep up (Really, she was the one to build and program his assistants! Who is he to keep her out of this line of work at this point?) but it's hard, and with school demanding more and more of her time, it becomes even more difficult to keep up with them.

She's going to have to make a choice.

 **-0-**

He hears about the accident through the grapevine. He sends her a get-well-soon card.

With lives that are rapidly taking them down different paths, it is the last time he contacts her.

 **-0-**

She chooses school, thinking that if she focuses on it now, she can help her uncle even more in the future.

It is a choice she will soon find herself regretting.

 **-0-**

His grandmother is really pushing politics, even after he tells her his opinion of them. Really, he can't help but be totally disgusted by the whole thing.

As he continues to do research into the subject, he finds himself more and more disgusted. This is only compounded by the difficulty he faces in the volunteer work he has started to get involved with.

This government is awful, he realizes. Someone should really do something about it.

That is about the time he first finds an advertisement for the ELE.

 **-0-**

The second accident happens when she's nineteen, and away at college. It's not one she is involved in, and some part of her has been waiting for this call for a long time.

Her uncle, the man who has raised her, is dead.

The men show up at her apartment the next day. They need her.

Of course they need her. No one else has any experience going toe to toe with the agents of MAD, and with her uncle dead and the assistants she built for him completely wiped by EMP and crushed in a compactor, there's no one to stand between the agency and total chaos.

(Does she really have a choice?)

She agrees. She will take up the mantle. These people killed her uncle. They will regret it.

A voice modifier she can turn off and on at will that is already installed in her throat, a baggy trench coat and large fedora, and a good mask. That is all that is needed to make the agents run from the man who has apparently risen from the dead.

A man who has suddenly gotten a lot more dangerous.

 **-0-**

He comes up with a plan, somewhere along the line.

Doing good doesn't let him change anything, no matter how hard he tries. But on the other hand…

He moves out to Los Angeles, where the ELE is located. Here, he can set up a new identity for himself, he can be _evil_ , until the league accepts him. From there, he can start making a difference.

This is, of course, only step one. If he does well in the league, he figures he is obvious choice to eventually take the helm of his uncle's agency. With an international crime agency at his fingertips, he can _change the world_.

Yes, this is a brilliant plan.

If only it weren't for those pesky heroes.

 **-0-**

She isn't sure exactly when the Evil League of Evil and the Heroes Association Guild (God, that's a terrible acronym) set up shop in Los Angeles. Regardless, with all the heroes and villains in the city (it is a little odd that they aren't in the rest of the world, for the most part), it makes it a perfect place to hide in plain sight.

She dies her hair, rents an apartment, and takes up the part of a young lady just out of college trying to make her way in the world. And whenever she gets the call, she disappears for several days to stop whatever MAD plot is afoot.

It's kind of fun, being an avenger from beyond the grave.

Now if only those pesky heroes and villains would stop tearing up the city she is quickly growing to love.

 **-0-**

When he first finds out he has a nemesis, he wants to dance a jig. After all, this proves he's a real villain, doesn't it? Even if he has a serious aversion to hurting people and wants to use the power he gets from being a villain to make a difference.

He is a real villain!

Unfortunately, it quickly becomes apparent this hero has the brainpower his uncle's nemesis used to have. Which is to say, absolutely none.

Even worse, this guy is far more of an active danger than Gadget ever was.

Now every evil plot he tries, he can't only make sure that he doesn't hurt anyone. He also has to make sure this dumb-as-a-stump hero doesn't hurt anyone.

Why can't this ELE just up and accept him already?

 **-0-**

She's never been one for standing around. Even if she's supposed to be under cover.

Every day she's not out saving the world, she throws herself into volunteer work. Homelessness is a serious problem, what with the heroes tearing up the place so frequently.

So she works to end it. She volunteers in soup kitchens. Most of the money she makes ends up going to charity.

She's such a hero. (She thinks this with an exasperated sigh.)

 **-0-**

Eventually, he tells his family the truth-that he's a villain.

His grandmother is disappointed.

No one else in the family really cares. Like it was all inevitable.

He knows if the ELE knew who his uncle was, they would be begging him to join. After all, the ELE is pretty small, all things considered, with very little reach. MAD is an international criminal organization.

But he wants to get in on his own merits.

...Which is actually a little twisted, now that he thinks about it.

 **-0-**

Sometimes, she wonders.

What do the heroes do when they aren't out saving the day? Do they volunteer, like she does? Could she be working next to them and not even know it?

Do they even have secret identities?

Or are they always on duty?

For some reason, she can never manage to hold on to this line of thought for very long.

 **-0-**

He gets a henchman.

Not a very powerful power or anything. Kind of lame, actually.

But he has a _henchman_!

This is kind of cool.

 **-0-**

Her apartment does not have a washer. Or a dryer.

This is a little inconvenient. But it doesn't take long to walk to the laundromat, about five minutes away.

Until one of the stupid hero/villain fights ends up demolishing it.

This, _this_ is why there's such a terrible homelessness problem in Los Angeles. Because of all the property damage! It really makes her angry, especially as no one seems to be doing anything about it!

If only she weren't undercover.

Also, now she needs to find a new laundromat.

 **-0-**

The second time they meet, she's not paying attention and he's paying a little too much.

It's at the laundromat.

They don't recognize each other.

She's just focused on getting things cleaned. She barely notices him, thinking instead about how she sincerely wishes on occasion she could take the Gadget hammer to the heads of the more idiotic heroes and villains (if only they weren't out of her jurisdiction), and _why is everyone so STUPID_.

He's mostly focused on getting his lab coat washed without anyone else noticing, but one look at her and he's smitten again.

Even with red hair and several years older, he finds himself fantasizing about the life they could have together. He does his best not to be caught staring.

She notices he's staring, but doesn't think much of it. A childhood raised around computers have made her slightly blind to some of the more subtle human nuances.

Also, he's kind of cute, but the cameras she has installed on her person show her images of him without having to look over.

They don't talk. Not that time, nor at the several subsequent meetings.

But each secretly looks forward to laundry day.

 **-0-**

She's disappointed each time one of her missions takes her away from the cute blond in the hoodie.

He's disappointed the few times she doesn't show up.

 **-0-**

Time passes.

He's taken on a new name, a name he hopes will someday strike fear into those who hear it. Also, Dr. Thaw is his father's name, so he can't exactly use that.

She barely pays attention to the few times he appears in the newspapers. Frankly, she has larger things to worry about.

 **-0-**

Finally, he sends in an application to the league that isn't rejected out of hand.

It's his last chance, he knows that, and he's not going to mess this one up. No, he has a plan, and it's going to go well, and everything is finally going to work out.

This is it. He's going to change the world.

And he's going to take her with him.

...It's really not his fault if he can't help from bragging about it a bit. Because _this_ is _it_!

 **-0-**

She is out trying to gather signatures for another project against homelessness. But the people in this city are so apathetic, so unwilling to look out at the rest of the world.

In short, it's going fairly poorly.

She's getting ready to bang her head against the wall. If she has to put up with much more of this, she's going to end up coming out of hiding and _doing_ something.

But that would be bad.

It's as she's thinking that that she finds herself walking down the street, to another man who isn't looking at her.

And when he turns, everything changes.

 **-0-**

The third time they meet, he is distracted and she is focused.

(But is it really the third time? They've seen each other often, even if they've never spoken that either can recall. Regardless, it is the third time their relationship will change.)

He is trying to half listen to her and half focus on the men at the bank down the street. It's not going well, and he ends up saying a few things he probably shouldn't.

She is trying to get his signature and his attention, but only half succeeds. She can't figure out what he's focused on, either.

As she finally gets his signature and leaves, he curses the fact that she would choose _this_ moment of all of them to speak to him.

Meanwhile, she is cursing that she would meet him at such a moment that he would be so distracted. Of all the first impressions to leave!

They have no way of knowing how their thoughts mirror each other.

 **-0-**

Despite the distraction, he finds the heist is going well. The car is driving away from the bank, and is empty apart from the Wonderflonium he's targeting. Now he just needs to-

And that's the moment it starts to go wrong.

That blasted nemesis! He never seems to know when to back off!

Within moments, he's completely lost control of the car, and it's careening wildly through the streets. The Oh-So-Wonderful Captain isn't exactly doing anything to help it, either.

No.

He's _monologuing_.

That. That right there, that was the problem with heroes. And they were all _idiots_.

He tries desperately to regain control to the van, to at least _stop_ the thing, but the remote can't connect…

And then he sees where it's headed and nearly feels his heart stop.

 **-0-**

She's still collecting signatures.

Not that there's much actual collecting going on, mostly begging people as they walk away. It's getting ridiculous.

That's when she hears the screech of tires.

She looks up to see a van speeding at her. That's not good.

Some part of her freezes up, even as another lists several ways to get out of this. Unfortunately, they all involve blowing her cover. That's something she can't risk.

Distantly, a third part wonders how much it will hurt when the van hits. Because it's certainly not going to kill her. Though it will be disappointing to have to find a new identity. Her work with the homeless will certainly be stalled, and it will be disappointing to not see _him_ again, and she tries to calculate the chances of 'surviving' the blow.

Before she can finish the calculations, something slams into her side, and she finds herself flying out of the street, to hit heavily in a pile of trash bags on the sidewalk.

(That was the reason she'd been in the street in the first place. It's difficult to walk through trash, and she should know. She's done it more times than she can count.)

Despite heightened reflexes and senses, she's still disoriented by the blow. It takes her a second to realize what must have happened, even as furious shouting reaches her ears. She pushes the bags to the side as she struggles to her feet.

And she gets her first look at her savior.

(Though, he's not really the savior, is he? No marks on the van. It's not him who's stopped it.)

(But he's still a hero.)

(Doesn't she deserve a hero after everything she's been through?)

 **-0-**

As he furiously stalks off with the target aquired, he's certain this is not a completely successful heist.

He's lost.

And it's not even a competition he was aware he was participating in.

 **-0-**

She starts seeing him.

The hero, that is.

He's genuinely surprised at the line of work she seems to pursue (or as far as he knows, at least. She has not broken her cover.)

She's surprised that he's never even considered it before. Then again, it's not completely unexpected.

Her uncle missed a lot as well.

(And if he's dim witted, that's alright.)

(If he's a bit egotistical, that's alright.)

(If he's generally clueless, that's alright.)

(That's what heroes are supposed to be, aren't they?)

 **-0-**

It's not that his relationship with her has changed.

No, that's not true.

They've started talking at the laundromat now, as they wait for the clothes to finish. He brings her frozen yogurt one day.

His relationship with her is better than ever, really.

It just doesn't _feel_ like that.

Bad enough that he wouldn't get her. He could stand that in the long run, he thinks, difficult though it may be. But no, the man she's taken up with is his _nemesis_.

The idiot.

The jerk.

The pompous, self-absorbed, thoughtless-

Well. It's not a pleasant thought.

Added to the fact that his first attempted heist with his new freeze ray hadn't exactly gone as planned and the ELE had found out, things were not looking up. Now if he wanted his plans to have any chance, he'd have to kill someone.

He's not sure how to feel about that.

His henchman is no help.

 **-0-**

She thinks, in another life, she could be very happy with her laundromat buddy.

In another life, she wouldn't have met a hero. In another life, she wouldn't secretly _be_ a hero.

But her cards were not meant to fall like that, she supposes.

After a particularly hard three day mission, when she returns, her new boyfriend is waiting for her. Not to demand answers, but to say he's missed her and wants to spend more time with her.

(She has surprisingly mixed feelings about that. But she does agree. That's what boyfriends and girlfriends are supposed to do, anyways.)

Her hero comes to meet her at the laundromat the next day.

 **-0-**

It's a short, harsh discussion.

His nemesis has told him to stay away from her.

That is not going to happen.

Suddenly, for the first time in his life, he has no reservations about killing a man.

 **-0-**

She is rather taken aback when her hero tells her that she should stay away from her laundry buddy. He doesn't give any reason, just informs her like she should take him at his word because he's a hero.

She informs him rather angrily that he has no say in who she will hang out with, thank you very much, and that he'd best keep his opinions of her friends to himself.

If it were anyone else, they'd be broken up at that point. But he's been really helpful in her work with the homeless (even if he doesn't seem to care for the people themselves), and he is still a hero.

(Though some part of her doesn't even know what that means any more.)

 **-0-**

His plan starts at the dedication ceremony.

He's thrilled that she's finally gotten the building she's worked for months to turn into a shelter, but much less thrill that it's not her the city is honoring. No, they would rather honor one of their vaunted heroes.

He hides far before the ceremony begins, waiting, waiting and listening for the moment to appear. The freeze ray is charged, his death ray is in his hand, and he's not going to mess this up.

Not this time.

It takes hours before the moment comes, but he finally whips off the sheet covering what the audience believed to be a statue of their hero. It is actually him. Him and his freeze ray.

The hero is frozen before he knows what hits him.

Then, with the man frozen, it is a simple matter to clear the room. The death ray makes a nice sound as it fires into the ceiling, and the raining debris is enough to make the masses panic.

He takes a moment to scan the few who remain as he raises the deadly weapon to attack the so called hero. She isn't here. That's good. He doesn't want her to see this.

(He doesn't want to be a villain to her.)

Then the freeze ray shuts down.

And all hell breaks loose.

 **-0-**

She's not sure what happens.

She ducks out when the man she believed to be her hero begins talking about their sex life. This is…

(It's not the actions of a hero.)

She isn't sure how best to react.

But while she is still reeling from this realization, she hears shout from inside the hall. Returning is an ingrained response. She can no more run from a panic than a fireman from a fire.

Inside…

Inside is a sight she can't process.

(Her laundry buddy has a gun.)

(He's tried to kill a hero of the city.)

(He's failed.)

(He's going to die.)

(Her hero is going to kill someone. Her hero is not a hero at all.)

Then the gun is exploding, and something hits her in the stomach, and everything goes black.

 **-0-**

He crawls over to hold her hand.

She can hear him. She can't seem to see him.

 **-0-**

 _System error._

 _Error: Visual input offline._

 _Warning: Unknown approaching._

 _Auditory systems online. Input:_ "Penny! Penny? Oh."

 _Searching database. Match found. Unknown identified as "Billy"_

 _Voice analysed. Worry detected. Seeking reassurance._

 _Vocal systems online. Input:_ "Billy? Is that you?"

 _Auditory systems input:_ "Penny, hold on. Oh, nonononono-"

 _Voice analysed. Panic detected. Attempt refocus attention._

 _Vocal systems input:_ "Are you alright?"

 _Error: auditory systems failing._

 _Error: all systems failing._

 _Error: auditory systems offline._

 _Warning: "Billy" panicking. Searching reassuring words._

 _Vocal systems input:_ "It's okay."

 _Vocal systems imput:_ "Captain Hammer will save us."

 _Error: System crash._

 _Entering sleep mode._

 **-0-**

He feels when her body shuts down.

It's like the world shuts down with her.

He doesn't remember lifting her and placing her on the hospital gurney. He doesn't remember the cameras flashing in his face. He doesn't remember leaving the building.

He does remember, later, the letter from the ELE welcoming him to the organization.

There's a pamphlet included. It has very nice graphics.

 **-0-**

 _System reboot initiated._

Her eyes open to the black surroundings. It takes her several minutes to piece together what happened and where she is.

No, she knows where she is.

Despite having pieced most of it together, her superiors still sit down and talk with her. They tell her exactly what has happened in the two weeks it's taken to "fix" her.

(Fix her. Like she's a thing.)

(She knows, though, there are many in the agency who do not view her as such.)

(That helps.)

 **-0-**

He begins a reign of terror.

Sort of.

He's uncontested, yes. No one wants to go up against the villain who defeated the powerful Captain Hammer.

But he still can't bring himself to kill anyone.

Not that he needs to. The city recalls he has killed before, and all are eager to get out of his way.

It hurts, sometimes. To see how spineless they are. How quickly they crumble with no hero to back them up.

He doesn't think of her.

(He can't.)

(He nevers goes back to the laundromat again.)

 **-0-**

She finds herself set up in a new city with a new identity.

There are new causes to champion here. New ways to get involved.

She lets her hair grow back in blonde. It's not like MAD really remembers she exists anymore, anyways. No, the false name is more than enough to confuse them.

 **-0-**

Sometimes, on his more morose days, he wonders if he ever even had a chance. If there was ever any real chance he wouldn't end up a villain.

On those days, he thinks back to the blonde he once met on an island with his uncle, one who shared the same name with the woman he's _killed_ , and wonders " _what if?_ "

It doesn't do much for his work.

Or his depression.

(It does a lot for his drinking, though.)

 **-0-**

It's nearly two years after her "death" that she gets the news.

Claw is dying.

MAD is preparing for a new leader.

She isn't sure who the new leader is supposed to be, but there is something she has to do. Something she told herself she'd do a long time ago.

 **-0-**

He receives a letter. From his uncle.

Apparently, the man is dying. And he's heard about his nephew's exploits.

It's exactly what he planned, so long ago. With MAD under his control, he can change more than this paltry city. He can change the _world_.

(Like she'd have wanted.)

 **-0-**

She's not entirely sure what's killing Claw. From what she can understand, it's a combination of age, a rough life, and a rare tropical illness. From any one, he might have recovered. From all three, it's doubtful.

It doesn't take much to bully his location out of a few of the lower level thugs. With him so close to death, it's not a big secret anymore. No one really cares, and she knows the agency won't likely go after him in his last days of life. There's no point.

She slips into the mostly empty mansion easily. She's had several years of experience at this point, and there's a legend built up around her alter ego.

She finds him easily. He's in the master bedroom, wheezing heavily, staring at the ceiling. Waiting for death. Or, perhaps, her.

"It took you long enough," he gasps as she enters. Even laid up, his observational skills far outrank those of the others. "I was beginning to think you wouldn't show."

"I wouldn't miss this," she says calmly, pulling a chair up beside the bed. "I figured I'd give you one last chance to kill me."

"No point," he wheezes.

The two sit in silence for a minute, punctuated only by Claw's heavy breathing.

"So many years, chasing after you," he says at length. "I never thought it would end like this. But I suppose, in the end, you've won."

Something heavy settles in her chest. And for the first time since she's taken up the mantle, she breaks cover. She switches the voice modulator off, removes the hat, mask, and the scarf that usually covers most of her face.

"No," she says, her own voice ringing strongly in the room. "No, I don't think he did."

He looks over in surprise, eyes searching her face as recognition slowly dawns upon him.

"Penny Gadget," he whispers. His eyes are wide in surprise, mouth slack in shock. "How long?" He pauses, thinking, before realizing. "Bolivia. It was Bolivia, wasn't it."

It's not a question, and he's right. MAD was convinced they had taken her uncle down there, to the point they were honestly convinced she was a ghost for months. Some members still were.

"Yes," she answers anyway.

"I knew it," Claw wheezes. "I _knew_ it."

And then he starts to laugh.

It's a choking laugh, punctuated by coughing, but is a strong one, nonetheless. He laughs, wheezes, coughs, and chokes.

He is still laughing seven minutes later when the heart monitor hooked up to him flatlines.

She doesn't say anything. She simply replaces the disguise and melts back into the shadows.

Minutes later, one of the underlings finds him.

She slips out in the resulting chaos.

 **-0-**

When he receives the notice, he plans a little show.

It's something he could never resist, not entirely. And the thought of finally moving forward with his plans is one welcome enough to cheer him up enough to plan it.

He walks into the ELE meeting with a spring in his step, causing several eyes to turn towards him. After all, he's never been known for cheerfulness, not since- ( _her_ ) -well, they've never seen him like this, anyway.

"Ladies, Gentlemen, it has been a pleasure," he greets. "But I believe it is time for me to move on to bigger and better things."

Now there is angry muttering, a few protests. After how hard he worked to get here, what on earth would cause the newest (and youngest) member of the ELE to leave? And what made him think he even could?

He doesn't respond to the questions, keeping a pleasant smile plastered on his face, until there is a rapping at the door.

Bad Horse whinnies for it to open, and a moment later, a MAD agent in full uniform enters. He ignores most of the villains, crossing immediately to the man in the red lab coat.

"Dr. Thaw," he greets. "It is my duty to inform you that with the passing of your uncle, the entirety of MAD now fall under your command. Doctor. Sir."

He grins, a much more real one, at the looks of shocked amazement on the faces of the ELE. "Thank you, Thomas. But I go by Dr. Horrible, now."

"Of course, Doctor," the agent agrees mildly. "Your car is waiting."

"Excellent," he says, standing and brushing imaginary dust from his coat. He nods towards the ELE again. "Ladies, Gentlemen."

And then he is walking out the door.

They won't dare touch him, of course. They may be evil, but they're not fool enough to think they could stand up to the might of MAD. No, the ELE is small change by comparison.

He is going to change the world.

(Probably.)

 **-0-**

She is surprised when she hears the name of the new head of MAD.

Shocked when she sees a picture.

But, she thinks, this can be turned to their advantage.

(Probably.)

 **-0-**

The fourth time they meet, the world has chewed the both of them up and spat them back out. He is no longer naive. She is no longer innocent.

He's expecting her, but not _her_.

That is, he's expecting the role she plays. Gadget wouldn't miss the chance to introduce himself to the new head of MAD, and he's hoping to make a good first impression.

A meeting is set. Away from cameras, away from recorders, away from anything that could take note of what will actually happen. They both secretly work to do this, neither knowing the other is working on it as well.

He is armed with a freeze ray.

She is always armed.

He arrives first (so he thinks) to sit at the table already set up. He drums his fingers nervously on the wood surface as he thinks of a way to put his best foot forward.

And then the voice of his uncle's arch nemesis comes from the shadows.

"I have to say, of all the people in line to run this organization, you were the one I least expected."

He jumps slightly at the words before turning to face the shadowy man coming to sit across from him.

"Yes," he begins, before his voice breaks. He clears it and soldiers on. "Yes, well, I didn't think, years ago, that I'd ever be here either."

After all, he's only met Gadget once before. What else could the man be referring to?

"That's not what I meant," she says calmly.

"I have to admit, I'm curious," he breaks in, leaning close. He's read the files, read them close enough to know there's something strange about what happened in Bolivia. "I've heard the rumors. Are you a ghost?"

"Not the way you'd think," she answers. But she has already planned to lay all her cards on the table, since the moment she walked in the door. "But one could certainly say so."

He frowns, not comprehending what she's hinting at. "What do you mean?"

"I mean, Inspector Gadget died in Bolivia," she says in her own voice. As he's stunned by that, she carefully and deliberately removes her hat, mask, and scarf.

He's completely shocked to silence as his brain refuses to process what's in front of him.

"I suppose I should apologize," she says quietly. "But in my defense, I had no idea my laundry buddy Billy was actually William Thaw. Or Dr. Horrible, for that matter. I'm quite annoyed I missed it, to be honest."

"You're not dead," he says, still in shock.

"No," she admits. "Like my uncle, I'm a fully functional cyborg. When I was struck by that piece of your gun, my implants basically shut me down and sent out a distress signal, so the agency could come collect me. I was out for a couple weeks while they put me back together, and then I was moved to another city. Can't have a dead woman rising from the grave."

"You're not dead," he repeats, still stuck on that fact.

"Billy," she says. "William."

"Billy," he corrects, finally getting his brain working again.

"Billy, then," she agrees. "Why did you agree to take over MAD?"

"I needed the manpower," he admits. "I needed to… I _need_ to fix things. The world. To change things for the better. Like we'd talked about. And I could never do that from the other side of the law."

A crafty smile forms across her lips. "Good. Good, I think we can do that."

He blinks in confusion. "We?"

"You didn't think I'd let you change the world on your own, did you?" she laughs. "No, we're going to work together, you from your side and me from my side. I think a pair of the most dangerous people in the world can come up with meetings to plan things."

"Disguises work," he says absently, still mostly focused on the thought of the two of them. Together.

"Well, with disguises, we could probably step out for a cup of coffee once in awhile."

"Or meet at a laundromat," he agrees.

"It's my turn to bring the frozen yogurt," she agrees.

And they take a minute, the two of them, from very different places and yet not different at all, to just sit and grin at each other.

(The world is going to change.)

(And they're going to change it.)

 **FIN**

 **And that's all, folks! A bit of a rather unique crossover.**

 **Seriously, can't get this out of my head. It could totally be canon! We don't know!**

 **Anyways, please review if you liked! Thanks for reading!**


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